Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. has become the new parent...

MONTREAL -- Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. has become the new parent corporation of the Canadian communications empire and will soon list shares on all major stock markets listing Bell Canada.

The federal government allowed the corporation to open its doors Thursday.

As announced earlier, existing Bell Canada shares will automatically be recognized as BCE shares. Arrangements have been made to list BCE common shares on the Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and New York stock exchanges.

The company said arrangements have also been made to list BCE on European markets now listing Bell Canada.

A. Jean de Grandpre, former chairman of Bell Canada, was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of BCE. Bell Canada and Northern Telecom Ltd. will continue as wholly-owned subsidiaries of the new parent.

'The new corporation has been established to provide overall leadership and coordination for the various Bell Canada companies, thus permitting greater flexibility to manage and augment business activities and to operate more effectively,' the company said in a statment.

J.C. Thackray, Bell Canada's president, was elected to succeed de Grandpre as chairman and chief executive officer of Bell Canada.

Bell Canada reported Wednesday a net profit of $184 million, or 90 cents a share for the first quarter 1983, compared with a profit of $159.5 million, or 84 cents a share, in the first three months of 1982.

In Toronto, de Grandpre told shareholders the telecommunications industry is in a transition stage.

He said he favored giving customers a choice of telecommunications equipment suppliers but said Bell and other telephone companies must be allowed to compete equally for that market.

'There will clearly be few winners around if the telephone companies are not permitted to compete on a sensible basis with alternative suppliers of such equipment.'